UNITED STATES ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION AGENCY REGION IX 75 Hawthorne Street San Francisco, CA 94105·3901

OFFICE OF THE REGIONAL ADMINISTRATOR 

## DEC 0 9 2011

Chairman Dale Delgado Jr. Bishop Tribe 50 Tu Su Lane Bishop, California 93514 Dear Chairman Delgado Jr.: The purpose ofthis letter is to notifyyou ofthe U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's preliminarydecision to designate Indian countryofthe Bishop Tribe as unclassifiable/attainment for the revised 2008 ozone National Ambient Air Quality Standards, and to inform you ofour approach for completing the designations for the revised ozoneNAAQS. OnMarch 12,2008,the EPA revised the NAAQS for ground-level ozone to provide increased protection ofpublic health and the environment. The EPA lowered the primary ozone standard from 0.08 parts per million (ppm) to 0.075 ppm to protect againsthealth effects associated with ozone exposure, including a range ofserious respiratory illnesses and increasedpremature death from heart or lung disease. The EPA revised the secondary 8-hour ozone standard, making it identical to the primary standard, to protect against welfare effects, including impacts on sensitive vegetation and forested ecosystems. Within one year ofpromulgation ofa new orrevised NAAQS, the Clean Air Actrequires the Governor ofeach state to submitto the EPA a list ofall areas in the state, recommending designations with respect to the new orrevised standard. Therefore, states were asked to submit their designation recommendations, including appropriate area boundaries, to the EPA by March 12,2009 with respectto the revised ozone standards. Tribes were not required to submit recommendations, butwere encouraged to participate in the designations process, and submit recommendations ifthey chose to do so. In September 2009, the EPA announced it was reconsidering the 2008 ozone standards. The Agency later took steps to delay the designation process for the 2008 ozone standards pending the outcome ofthe reconsideration. In September 2011, the Office ofManagement and Budget returned to EPA the draft final rule addressing the reconsideration ofthe 2008 ozone standards. On September 22, 2011, the EPArestarted the implementation effort by issuing a letterto clarify for state and local agencies the status ofthe 2008 ozone standards and to outline plans for moving forward to implementthem. This letter was also provided to the tribes. In addition, several national tribal conference calls were held to describe the overall designations process. The EPA indicated that it would proceed with initial area designations for the 2008 standards, and planned to use the recommendations states and tribes made in 2009 as updatedbythe most**Pn'nl~d** 011**R/'(;yd~d** Papucurrent, certified air quality data from either 2008-2010 or 2009-2011, as appropriate. While the EPA did not request that states and tribes submitupdated designation recommendations, the Agencyprovided the opportunity for them to do so. As required bythe Clean AirAct, the EPA will designate an area as nonattainment ifit is violating the 2008 ozone standards orcontributing to a violation ofthe standards in a nearby area. Consistent with designations for previous ozone standards, the EPA intends to designate an area as unclassifiable/attainment ifthere are certified, quality-assured airquality monitoring data showing the area is meeting the ozone standards or there are no monitoring data for the area, and the EPA has not made a determination that the area is contributing to a violation in a nearby area. After consideringrelevant technical information, including the most recent three years of certified air quality data, the EPA intends to designate the BishopTribe as unclassifiable/attainment along with the surrounding state area. The EPA will make its preliminarydesignation decisions and supporting documentation available to the general public for review and comment. We will be announcing a 30-daypublic commentperiod shortly in the 

### FederalRegister. Afterconsidering additional information, the Agencyplans to promulgate final ozone designations in the spring of2012. EPA is committed to working with the states and tribes to share the responsibility ofreducing ozone air pollution. Current and upcoming federal standards and safeguards, including pollution reduction rules for powerplants, vehicles and fuels, will assure steadyprogress to reduce smogforming pollution and will protect public health in communities across the country. We look forward to working with you and your staffto develop area designations underthe 2008 ozoneNAAQS in a timely manner. IfyourTribe has any questions about the designations process, please do not hesitate to contact me orAmyZimpfer, Associate Director, AirDivision, ofmy staffat 415-947-4146 or zimpfer.amy@epa.gov.

Jared Blumenfeld

cc: Brian Adkins, Environmental Manager